Changes in the inferior alveolar nerve following mandibular lengthening in the dog using distraction osteogenesis

A new approach to repairing cleft palate and acquired palatal defects with distraction osteogenesis

“…The cats used in this study were all juveniles aged 0.5-0.8 years old; the longest time interval followed after active distraction was 12 weeks, after which the cats would have reached maturity. It could therefore be observed that there was no influence of the DO technique on development of the oral and maxillofacial area 3,4 . In addition, comparative measurement of the jaws using experimental casts implied that the DO procedure might not retard the normal developmental tendency of the midface, and could maintain a normal occlusal relation in these cats.…”

Neurosensory and functional evaluation in distraction osteogenesis of the anterior mandibular alveolar process

“…Block et al 9 performed nerve testing and histology on operated and non-operated sides in four dogs. They found only mild pathological changes on microscopic examination when the mandible was lengthened on average 5.5 mm, apart from one case that showed significant nerve degeneration resulting from acute laceration by an extraoral device.…”

“…[9][10][11][12] The nerve tissue seems to have the ability to adapt to the gradual stretching due to DO within physiological limits. A distraction rate of 1 mm/day appears to be relatively safe for the inferior alveolar nerve 9,10 whereas rapid distraction may cause serious damage such as demyelination, axonal swelling, decrease of the number of axons, and axoplasmic darking. 10 Others 12 related the high incidence of nerve injuries tested by using sensory nerve action potentials to the device construction and osteotomy technique.…”

Effects of locally applied nerve growth factor to the inferior alveolar nerve histology in a rabbit model of mandibular distraction osteogenesis

“…The authors did not directly damage the IAN during the surgery; the rabbits underwent histological analysis and the pathological changes of the IAN were mainly attributed to the stretching tension of distraction. Several publications have described the morphology and function of the IAN in different animal models of DO 4,8,9,11,14,24 . These results were contradictory owing to the use of different fixation methods and the amounts of lengthening performed.…”